LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



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CARRIAGE PAINTlNGi 




National Bank .Vote Co N.V. Litho^rHjhc' 



THE MURPHY 

A,B,C, SYSTEM 



OF 



Carriage Painting. 



/ % 

Murphy & Co., 

VARNISH MAKERS, 

Newark, N. J. 

Murphy, Sherwin & Co., 
Cleveland, O. 

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Copyiighted 1878, by Murphy 6^ Co. 



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New York : 
National Bank Note Co., Type Department, 53 Broadway. 

1878, 



CARRIAGE PAINTING. 



Its Difficulties and Delays. 

How few who contemplate the tempting surface of a 
coach panel realize the labor and responsibility of pro- 
ducing it. Of all the arts brought into play in the con- 
struction of a carriage, that of the Painter is by far the 
most important. To his care are consigned the results of 
the labor of all his associates. A poor joint in the wood- 
work, or a rough ironing job, may escape notice or be 
concealed by the paint and varnish, but every brush-mark 
or blemish in the painting is apparent to a child. The 
job is given to the painter to finish, or, in other words, to 
perfect. Let it be never so full of flaws, he is expected 
to cover and conceal them, every one. He must take care 
of the looks of the work, make everything right, and have 
it hold out right. And, strange to say, he oftentimes 
accomplishes this, too, notwithstanding the fact that he 
runs the gauntlet of innumerable and subtle adulter- 
ations in his materials, — any one of which may wholly 
spoil his work, — and • must moreover contend with the 
possibly destructive influences of heat, cold, dust and 
moisture. Who, with his work beset with an equal 



4 The A, B, C, of Carriage Painting. 

number and variety of hidden possibilities of disaster, 
acquits himself with greater credit 1 

Defective Materials. 

But of all the difficulties which surround him, the most 
peculiar and trying are those, alluded to, growing out of 
the inherent obstinacies and deficiencies of his materials. 
Hence, while we give him all honor for triumphing so 
often over these dangers and defects, by patience, tact 
and persistence, is it not proper to ask whether a system 
should be perpetuated, which throws so much respon- 
sibility on one department, and many times gives so 
much power to one individual to make or mar the work 
of all ? Can the Carriage Builder afford the time for his 
workmen to prepare their own materials? Can his busi- 
ness afford the delays incurred by humoring these 
primitive materials and processes. Has not the very 
general discontent with which the old time methods 
are regarded, a reasonable and sufficient cause ? Are 
there not substantial business reasons for this discon- 
tent ? Ought it to take six to eight weeks to paint a car- 
riage ? Ought it to be necessary that painters should be 
trained artists, in order to turn out perfect work? Can 
the Carriage business of to day, submit to this delay, or 
afford exclusively higti priced labor ? The prevailing sys- 
tem of Carriage Painting, — its materials and its methods, 
is pretty generally the same to-day that it was fifty years 
ago. Is it, therefore, too much to ask, if these anciently 



The A, B, C, of Carriage Painting. 5 

respectable painting processes are not manifestly out of 
harmony with present necessities. And if other and better 
processes ought not to supercede them ? 

The Painter Controlled by His Materials. 

Yet it is not the fault of the Carriage Painter 
that this state of affairs exists. No class of mechanics 
is more keenly alive to the growing demands on 
them for improvement, nor has any class of work- 
men put forward more earnest endeavors to adapt 
their methods and materials to the requirements of car- 
riage building. The solution of the problem — '* How can 
a carriage be painted quickly and yet durably?" has taxed 
the thought and enlisted the effort of every Carriage Painter 
in the land. To gain rapidity without sacrificing perma- 
nence and durability, to safely reduce the work of weeks into 
the work of days, to paint perfectly and yet with push ; these 
were the results sought for. Rapidity alone was easily at- 
tainable by a liberal use of driers ; but this proved preju- 
dicial to durability. Experimental changes and variations 
of the old system have been tried, and sufficiently, it may 
be asserted^ to fully demonstrate the impossibility of con- 
juring up speed and durability, with materials the very na- 
ture of which imposes slowness and prudence. 

Where are the Ready-Made Primers? 

If it be so evident then that all these annoyances are 
due to the materials, one would naturally ask, why is he 



6 The A, B, C, of Carnage Painting. 

not supplied with better ? In these days of organized manu- 
facture, when every department waits upon every other, and 
is necessarily and properly limited to the supplying of some 
one particular thing for which it is specially equipped, it is 
certainly not unreasonable in the Carriage Painter to expect 
that he should find his materials ready prepared for use. 
In the other branches of carriage construction, the work- 
men have simply to acquire dexterity in the use of their 
tools. The smith finds his metals ready at hand, and has 
only to shape them. The body-maker finds his woods cut 
and seasoned, needing only to be fashioned and fitted. 
Neither, at all events finds it necessary to smelt his work- 
ing materials from the ore, or procure them from the forest. 
Quite different is it v/ith the painter ; for not only must 
he be an artist in the use of his materials but a chemist as 
well to compound them from their crude ingredients. We 
might surely as soon expect to go back to the days when 
the woodworker hewed out his every hub, spoke and felloe, 
the smith hammered out his springs and other ironwork ; 
as to continue in a system which allows the Painter to mix 
his colors and prepare his primers and roughstuffs. The 
era of ready-made wheels, and ready-made springs, calls 
for read^^-compounded surfacers. And in no department, it 
seems to us, can the Carriage Manufacturer more wisely 
exercise a liberal encouragement than by supplying his 
Painters with the best materials. But who shall furnish 
them? 



The A, B, C, of Carriage Painting. 7 

The Duty and the Privilege of the Varnish-Maker. 

This seems to fall naturally within the province 
of the Varnish-Maker. It is not many years ago that 
even making and melting his varnishes was one of the 
many responsibilities of the Painter ; but from this office 
as well as that of grinding his colors, he has happily been 
relieved. It is only within recent years that those en- 
gaged in the manufacture of varnish have awakened to 
the necessity of providing for that most important of 
all the materials used by the Painter, viz., his primers and 
roughstuifs, as they are commonly called, which con 
stitute the foundation of all his work. 

Attempts at Reform. 

While allowing all credit to what has been done in this 
direction, we feel sure that the authors of these pioneer 
efforts themselves would scarcely consider that they had left 
their task completed, nor that their efforts have done much 
more than to pave the way for something more complete 
and more radical in its reform. So far these efforts have all 
been compromises, not resolute departures ; and hence the 
failure of any single one of them to obtain recognition as 
a positive reform. A new system, to be better than an 
old one, should be able to overthrow and universally sup- 
plant it. Opportunities surely have not been denied the 
newer methods for accomplishing this result. They have 
been received with open arms by painters everywhere, and 
have been patiently investigated by craftsmen who, regard- 



8 The A, B, C, of Carriage Painting. 

ing the old system as having long out-lived its day and 
generation, were only too glad to welcome any promised 
advance in the art. These attempts, however, have always 
fallen short of realizing the painter's hopes, for the reason 
of their being only half-hearted attacks at one or the other 
end of the old-time methods, and hence only partial suc- 
cesses, consisting, on the one hand, of some novel 
primer of a pitchy character needing to be followed by 
lead coats and roughstuffs, or else a ready-mixed rough- 
stuff requiring to be preceded by the old system, lead and 
oil. 

Genuine Progress. 

Unlike all other attempts at improvement on the old 
order of painting, the A, B, C, System is an absolute 
departure and a radical and positive reform. It is not a 
compromise, but, instead, possesses an originality thflt is 
individual and distinct. 

As to what the A, B, C, System is, we commend the 
reader to a careful perusal of the following pages. 
What it will accomplish in the way of supplying the 
deficiencies we have described, outside of such statements 
as we shall make as to its practical trial and approval, will 
best be judged — in fact, can only be judged — by actual 
trial. We can only say that the results we have aimed at, 
in its development and preparation (through some years 
of experience and investigation) have been to simplify the 
labors of the painter, to reduce the perplexities and un- 



The A, B, C, of Carriage Painting-. 9 

certainties which pertain to his work, and to make it 
possible for him to accomplish uniformly satisfactory 
results, with a rapidity heretofore unknown. 



A REVIEW OF THE OLD SYSTEM. 



Deviltries of Paint and Varnish. 

We have intimated that the present materials used in 
procuring a surface to a carriage body or gear are radically 
and inherently defective. We presume that no one will 
dispute that they are so ; indeed, these evils have been 
for years the subject of debate at painters' conventions, 
and of discussions in essays, etc., etc., but testimony is 
not needed to display a fact so patent to every painter's 
daily experience. These evils form a large part of the 
whole group of painters' trials known under the apt title 
of " deviltries of paint and varnish." We propose, there- 
fore, as a preliminary to the unfolding of the reform pro- 
posed in the A, B, C, System, to discuss these evils in de- 
tail. 

The Foundation Coat. 

It is universally conceded by painters everywhere, that 
of all the coatings employed in the building up of a surface 
on either wood or iron, the priming coat is pre-eminently 
the most important. This coat is the foundation on which 
all subsequent coatings must depend. Render this foun- 
dation solid, substantial and secure, and your work is well 
begun. Does average mixture for lead and oil priming 



The A, B, C, of Carriage Painting. n 

accomplish this ? Let the discouraging experience of 
painters generally make answer. 

The Lead and Oil System. 

With every experienced and observant painter of to- 
day, the fact that corroded lead cannot be absorbed by 
wood to the extent of becoming indissolubly incorporated 
into its grain or inseparably cemented on to its surface by 
means of linseed oil alone, is a positive conviction The 
difficulty is that there is a disintegrating influence behind ; 
that is, underneath the lead and oil coating as well as 
outside of it, a fact which must not be disregarded. The 
interior dry and thirsty fibres of a well-seasoned piece of 
wood are bound to exert their utmost power of absorpticfn 
to rob the lead of its oil, and atom by atom they will get 
it, too, for like Barkis, the oil " is willin'," and the lead 
thus drained becomes in time a brittle crust, liable to peel 
off, crack and flake. It cannot but be admitted, therefore, 
that the essential deficiency in a lead and oil filling, 
centres in the fact of its being the helpless victim of a 
wooden thief, capable of stealing away every whit and 
title of its adhesive property, and thus depriving it of all 
elasticity and power to endure. 

Grain Showing. 

Now to our mind the unsatisfied thirst of these interior 
fibres offers a ready solution to the puzzling problem 
known as grain showing. What painter has not many 



12 The A, E, C, of Carriage Painting. 

times been greatly surprised to find that a carriage body, 
on which he expended extra care, and the surface of 
which, when the vehicle went out from his shop, was as 
smooth and solid as glass, has, in two or three months, come 
to exhibit a very bad case of grain showing 1 And what 
is the explanation of it 1 Why simply that the absorbing 
force of the interior fibres has wrought the change. It 
has gradually removed the oil which at first filled up the 
exterior cells of the wood, drawing it inward, and at the 
same time has given an (opportunity for the lead coat, 
which is yet in a degree elastic, to yield to the inward 
movement and pack itself into the grain in such a way as 
to produce a delineation of the superficies of the grain, on 
its own outer self. Is any better evidence than this 
wanted, as a proof that wood is bound sooner or later to 
be master in the lead and oil process of surfacing? 

Cracking, Blistering, etc., etc. 

The same explanation holds for the whole series of dis- 
turbances in the surface, described by such terms as crack- 
ing, flaking, blistering, peeling off, etc., etc. However 
careful may be the after treatment and however perfect 
the pigment of color and varnish afterwards built up, the 
uneasy and unsteady foundation of lead and oil disturbs 
the whole subsequent fabric. 

Will some good friend reply to this, that lead priming 
has endured for years ? Admitted. So it has, and may 
yet be made to. Given the purest lead, the purest oil, 



The A, B, C, of Carriage Painting. 13 

perfectly seasoned wood, and ii7Jie, (much time) and oily 
coating, and lead will cling a good long while. But who 
can spare the necessary time for this result in these impa- 
tient days ? Who will forswear Japans and driers, and 
spend two months or more in simply leading ? 

The Good Old Times. 

This leads us then to the consideration of the slowness 
of the lead and oil process. What carriage builder or 
carriage painter of experience, and wanting a durable job, 
would give a lead and oil priming coat less than five days 
to dry, or would use less than three coats of lead ? Here 
are nine days, we will say then, to be given to leading. 

In some shops it is yet the custom to give eight to ten 
days drying time to a lead and oil priming, and to follow 
this with three coats of lead, each coat allowed several 
days to dry. And then comes on the roughstuff — four 
coats — and each of these several days, and three days, or 
perhaps a week, for putty drying. How is this for ^' quick- 
ness and dispatch?" Twenty days for leading, and quite 
six weeks in working up a surface. 

Now there is no getting away from the fact that to 
thoroughly paint over a carriage body so many separate 
times^ involves a considerable amount of work. It is hand 
work, too, and therefore expensive work. 

Nor is this the worst feature consequent upon this inor- 
dinate loss of time. It very seriously prejudices the sale 
of carriages. A prominent Carriage Builder recently re- 



14 . The A, B, C, of Carriag-e Painting. 

marked to the writer, that if he could avoid the delays in 
his paint shop his business might be doubled. Carriages 
are no longer ordered a year in advance, or the painter 
given his own time. Ready made work is in great de- 
mand, and many jobs are ordered in the wood, and custo- 
mers cannot be made to realize any adequate cause for de- 
lay, and are always liable to accept a hasty and conse- 
quently short-lived finish, which the eager salesman is 
only too prone to give him. 



COMPARATIVE TIME SCHEDULE. 
LEAD AND OIL SYSTEM. 

Surfacing only. 
Body — Average Job. 

Priming and leading — three coats 9 days 

Putty I day 

Rough stuff— four coats 10 days 

20 da3^s 
Gear — Average Job. 

Priming and leading — three coats 9 days 

Putty I day 

10 days 
A, B, C, SYSTEM. 

Si4r facing only. 
Body — Best Job. 

Surfacer A — one coat i day 

Surfacer B — one coat. 1^ days 

Putty I day 

Surfacer C — three coats, one day each 3 days 



6^ day 



The A, B, C, of Carriag-e Painting. 15 

Gear — Best Job, 

Surfacer A — one coat i da)'' 

Surfacer B — one coat i-^ days 

Putty I day 

Surfacer C — one coat . i day 

4i days 

Please observe that this estimate is for the best work and sloivest 

time ; under favorable conditions, or on ordinary work this time 

can be considerably reduced, as all who practically investigate the 

new system will discover. 

Making Haste Slowly. 

All sorts of experiments for hastening the old process, 
and for shortening the time required for oil to dry, have 
been attempted, but never yet without imperilling the du- 
rability of the work. As you shorten the drying, you limit 
the wear, at the same time endangering safety and success. 
Indeed swiftness is not compatible with permanence in the 
old process, and the nearer you approach the one, the far- 
ther you get from the other. So thoroughly is this fact 
grounded in the experience of painters everywhere, and 
so universally is its truth established, that to speak to a 
painter of a quickly finished job, is to invite him to regard 
it as short-lived. 

Labor and Expense of the Lead and Oil System. 

The great amount of labor necessary in the lead and 
oil method, as compared to the small amount of work re- 



1 6 The A, B, C, of Carriage Painting*. 

quired in the newer method herein advocated, will be no- 
ticeable to all. Labor is the expensive item in carriage 
painting, as it is in most of the mechanic arts, and to save 
labor, therefore, is to save money. 

In the lead and oil system, the disproportion between 
the cost of the material used and the cost of the labor 
necessary to put the material to use, is very noticeable. 
Owing to this, not a few parties, both manufacturers and 
painters, are led to credit their stock with not costing 
them much. A shilling per pound for lead, seventy-five 
cents per gallon for oil, and fifty cents per gallon for 
spirits of turpentine, with perhaps fifty cents a quart for 
Japan, seem cheap enough certainly, but does the actual 
cost of these end with the price per pound and gallon 
paid ? Has there not to be considerable labor, (and that 
the highest-priced labor in the shop, viz : that of the fore- 
man), expended on each of these in putting them into 
shape for use, and is there not a pretty fair chance for a 
little wasting, too, in this work of preparation? The cost 
of any labor expended in compounding a mixture, or sev- 
eral mixtures, from raw materials, most certainly becomes 
a part of the cost of the mixture, and wastage resulting 
from many separate compoundings must be considered 
too. Obviously, therefore, any estimate on the cost of 
lead and oil surfacing stock must fail of being complete 
wherein these points are not fully considered. 

Lack of Uniformity. 
The many mixings and many proportionings necessary 



Tlie A, B, C, of Carriage Painting. 17 

to start and complete a new job through the priming, lev- 
eling and coloring coats are puzzling, to say the least. 

There are almost as many methods of proportioning, too, 
as there are paint shops. It is the custom in too many 
shops indeed, to have no rule at all, other than to use a 
'' little " of this, and a '' little " of that, to " some " of the 
other, in compounding coatings which call for scrupulous 
exactness and regularity. 

Mix, Mix, Mix. 

Doubtless the inequality of paint stock, of lead, of oil, 
of Japan, have led to this inattention to fixed formulas, 
and perhaps it is not strange that a painter, after repeat- 
edly trying carefully proportioned mixtures with no bet- 
ter result than to behold his most painstaking measure- 
ments set at naught by adulterated lead, impure oil, or a 
brittle Japan, should decide that fixed rules were of no 
particular advantage. But what is this but another argu- 
ment against the continuance of a system which involves 
so many chances of ill luck? The fact is, our carriage 
painters should no longer find it necessary to make so 
many mixings. Why should a painter personally pro- 
duce his working materials any more than a carriage trim- 
mer should personally work up from the raw material his 
cloth and patent leather ? It seems to us that the paint- 
ing art is considerably behind other trades in freeing it- 
self from its drudgeries. It has pretty much relinquished 
its paint and color grinding by hand, its oil boiling, Japan 



1 8 The A, B, C, of Carriage Painting. 

making, and varnish making, but still holds on to its mix- 
ing, mixing, mixing. 

If the painter can trust to buy ready-ground lead, and 
chance his oil, and stake results on average Japan, would 
he run any greater risk by making use of ready -mixed sur- 
facers, needing no personal manipulation by himself 
whatever ? Would he not rather reduce his risk as well as 
reduce his labor ? 

Lead and Oil Unhealthy. 

The unwholesomeness of lead is such a patent fact that 
we have little need here to mention it. Its disagreeable, 
not to say dangerous effect on health, is fully understood. 
Had the old surfacing system no other bad point than 
this, not a few would think this point alone sufficient to 
condemn it. 

What is a Carriage Surface? 

Having discussed the evils of the present system, (if it 
can be called a system, seeing that scarcely any two 
painters agree in their method of following it), it now be- 
comes us to consider, first, what is the inherent nature and 
character of that surface which should be the pride and 
glory of every carriage painter ; and secondly, what should 
be the character of a true foundation for such a surface. 

As to the nature of the surface of a carriage body. Is 
it the exterior portion of wood and iron filled in^ sealed 
up, hardened, leveled and brought to a glass-like smooth- 



The A, B, C, of Carriage Painting". 19 

ness ? or is it a crust or shell created tipon such exterior 
portion of wood or iron ? 

Ice is said to form upon the surface of water, but the 
ice is never called the water, nor is it properly the surface 
of the water. It is simply a crust upon the water. It is a 
strong crust at times, and is smooth, compact and solid, 
and seemingly secure enough to last forever j but it is, 
after all, only a crusty and its days are numbered. Some- 
thing like this seems to us, is a so-called '■'■ surface " of lead 
and oil, and roughstuff, on a carriage body. A true surface 
should be, not superimposed on the wood, but should be 
in the wood and of Xki^ wood. 

Is A True Primer Possible? 

A priming composition, according to the latest and 
most advanced idea, should be penetrative, tenacious, 
elastic ; should firmly hold the grain and afford complete 
protection against moisture. 

Experiments have been made in priming with pitch-like 
compositions needing either to be heated, or if applied 
cold, requiring thin coats skillfully laid on, to be followed 
by laborious brushing in (a tattooing process, in fact,) and 
then to be rubbed off from the surface with rags. Doubt- 
less these processes possess merit, but it is surely no unjust 
criticism to remark that the necessity of heating a primer 
in a paint shop is a serious inconvenience ; and, more- 
over, the necessity of removing from the surface of the 
wood a composition left in the grain is a serious fault, it 



20 The A, B, C, of Carriage Painting. 

being not unreasonable to suppose that a coating suitable 
for any part should be suitable for all parts, and should 
not impose the labor of rubbing off. Is there a primer 
possible which shall avoid all these drawbacks ? which 
shall avoid lead with its attendant evils? avoid the 
necessity of driers ? be simple, ready-prepared, easily 
applied and uniform in its results ? free from anything 
affecting the health, from drudgery and waste ? prompt, 
safe and reliable ? Let the sequel show. 

ROUGHSTUFF. 

Next in importance to the priming coat is that which 
completes the surfacing process, and makes a perfect 
foundation for the color and varnish. This is the one 
commonly known as roughstuff. 

There is so much to be said in disparagement of the 
average old system roughstuff, that we are puzzled to know 
how to briefly criticise it. Certain it is, that there is no 
composition with which the old-school painter has to deal 
that more thoroughly taxes his ingenuity and patience. 
Among a hundred painters, too, shall we not discover 
almost a hundred different rules for mixing it? Surely 
we need not enlarge on the need of improvement here. 
With most painters the necessity for a perfect roughstuff 
attains to an importance scarcely exceeded by that of a 
good primer. If the primer is the foundation, the rough- 
stuff is the cap stone. In one of the most prominent 
carriage factories in New England so great is the import- 



The A, B, C, of Carriage Painting. 21 

ance attached to the compounding of roughstuff that one 
of the proprietors makes it his special duty to personally 
mix every batch used in the establishment. The idea that 
^'anything" will do for roughstuff is full of error. Ob- 
viously all that is vital to finish is resident in this coating, 
and not alone the finish of the job when just completed, 
but the later and permanent appearance as well. The 
surface must be here secured, and in proportion as the 
surface is perfect or imperfect will the job be rated. A 
poorly compounded roughstuff is liable to absorb water 
during the rubbing down process, and when this occurs, 
grain showing, blistering and cracking naturally follow. A 
roughstuff to be perfect should be homogeneous with the 
coatings which it covers. It should possess cohesiveness 
and a sufficiently elastic toughness to prevent its flaking 
or cracking, yet should be as hard as iron, and of a nature 
to cut down freely under pumice, and without clogging 
the stone. It should not absorb, but should yield a com- 
pact solid water-proof surface, over which varnish coats 
should stand out with permanent brilliancy. 

Are Lead and Oil the Only Possibilities in Paint? 

Do not painters generally cling too closely to the notion 
that the old system is the only system and the old materials 
the only materials? Why should lead and oil be con- 
sidered the only possibilities in paints ? Why could not 
a material, rubber-like in character, penetrating and tena- 
cious, with an affinity for the oil stronger than that of the 



22 The A, B, C, of Carriage Painting". 

wood, SO that it would be held in permanent solution — 
why, we ask, is it not possible that such a primer might 
be devised ? And then let us suppose that this were to be 
supplemented by another coat, tough and elastic, which 
would confirm and strengthen the mission of the first, and 
by loading and compacting the pores still fiirther help 
toward an enduring foundation. Supposing that this 
could be followed by still a third — and all part of the 
same system — which should level and complete the foun- 
dation^ putting a finish to the work of the two preceding, 
would not such a system be worthy of the examination oi 
all painters ? 

The Claims of the A, B^ C, System. 
But not less than these are the virtues we claim for the 
A, B, C, System, and we have, therefore, no hesitation in 
declaring to the carriage painter that we have unseated 
his ancient discouragement, and have put in its place 
something as much better as system is better than chaos 
and science than guess-work. A working material more 
in harmony with the requirements of the present age ; 
more economical as to tiine; more reliable as to results ; 
necessitating less labor, and altogether more enduring. 
Its compositions are far superior to anything heretofore 
employed. They are quick drying, water proof and 
weather proof, and their adaptation to surfacing is com- 
plete and perfect. It is not the old system improved, but 
it is a decided improvement on the old system. 



The A, B, C, of Carriage Painting. 23 

We are well aware that we may seem to be making 
large claims for our new method, but a little reflection 
will show it is either all we claim for it or nothing. A 
system which proposes to do away entirely with the old 
method, must either be a splendid success or a miserable 
failure. We have so thoroughly convinced ourselves of 
its success, that we do not hesitate to ask a trial for it, 
knowing full well that a practical demonstration of the 
claims of our system is the only thing that will inspire con- 
fidence in it. We ask, therefore, a careful attention to 
the description of our process, and if what we claim seems 
to have any advantage in it, we should like to have it put 
to the proof. 



PROGRESS IN THE PAINT SHOP. 



Description of the A, B, C, System. 

The fundamental characteristics of the A, B, C, System 
Surfacers may be described as follows : ist, Penetrative- 
ness ; 2d, Tenacity; 3d, Coherency; 4th, Elasticity; 5th, 
Solidity. It bases its claims of superiority over other 
systems of surfacing on the following special qualities, 
viz Durability; Quickness; Uniform Results; Easy Work- 
ing Quality; Simplicity and Method. Its progressive 
character consists in its aim to supply to the painter three 
separate and ready-compounded surface mixtures, embrac- 
ing and constituting all the material necessary for starting 
with a job in the wood, and carrying the same forward 
into a condition for receiving color coats. Each of these 
compositions, too, is sent out in a newly invented Surfacer 
Mixing Can, by means of which it is kept in constant 
readiness for use. No additions are needed. Each 
Surfacer is perfect in itself and ready for the brush as it 
comes from the can. Labor is economized. Time is 
saved. Waste is avoided. Uniform success is assured. 
The components of the A, B, C, Surfacers are necessarily a 
private and proprietary matter, but their many new and 



The A, B, C, of Carriage Painting. 25 

superior qualities will be made sufficiently apparent in this 
description to enable every intelligent painter to perceive 
their perfect adaptation to the work. 

Adaptability of the A, B, C, System. 

The adaptability of the A^ B, C, Surfacers, to each and 
every variety of Carriage Surfacing, and to both old and 
new jobs, is thorough and complete. Everything that can 
be done with the old system can be aone with the new, 
and done more durably and more rapidly, too. 

The A, B, C, Surfacers are also adaptable to all grades of 
work, from the Finest Coach Body Work to the Painting 
of ordinary Wagons. We mean by this that the working 
process of the new system, like its material, is '^Elastic," 
and that it is therefore susceptible of such modifications 
as may be necessary to suit it to the grade of work v/anted. 

We claim that the nature of the A. B, C. System Material 
guarantees durability in every case. A single coat of our 
Surfacer A even, will insure the protection of the wood, 
and hence if durability only was thought of, and filling up 
and finish not considered, color and varnishes could follow 
at once. This we do not advise, but state the fact to 
indicate that the expensiveness or cheapness of any job 
will depend entirely on the disposition of the painter to 
make it one or the other. 

Arrangement and Application. 

The arrangement and method of application of the new 
system is not essentially dissimilar to the order and 



wJi 



26 The A, C, C, of Carriage Painting-. 

process of the old system, it having been a special study 
with us while organizing the A, B, C, System to avoid any 
unnecessary innovation of processes with which the Car- 
riage Painter is already familiar. 

SURFACER A. 

This Surfacer is the priming or foundation coat applied 
directly to the wood. It penetrates the pores of the latter, 
seals them up and renders it permanently waterproof, A 
piece of whitewood, poplar, oak, ash or hickory coated 
with Surfacer A may be soaked in water for weeks or 
boiled for hours without swelling. A body or gear primed 
with one coat of this Surfacer may be exposed to the 
weather for months without the grain of the wood being 
raised. Being free from lead, there is no possibility of 
that metallic residue which is so liable to disturb the whole 
subsequent fabric of color and varnish, and which time 
and the weather will soon proclaim. A job primed with 
Surfacer A cannot possibly crack, blister or peel off. 

SURFACER B 

supplements Surfacer A, uniting with and strengthening 
that Surfacer, thereby loading the pores more thoroughly 
and building up the surface preparatory to its completion 
in Surfacer C. 

SURFACER C 

should not be confounded with the ^^roughstuff " of the 



The A, B, C, of Carriage Painting. 27 

old system. Its office is necessarily similar, but its com- 
position is by no means the same. It takes its place in 
the system as the leveling coat which confirms the work 
of Surfacers A and B, and completes the foundation for 
the color and varnish. It flows out smoothly, holding no 
brush-marks; rubs down with little labor; absorbs no 
moisture, and is therefore never unsteady in *' holding 
out " the varnish. It retains its elasticity, hence neither 
flakes or cracks. Fewer coatings of it are required than of 
roughstuff, and it can be used more rapidly. 

STAIN OR GUIDE-COAT. 

In furtherance of the purpose of including in a system 
all parts of the process of preparing the surface for the 
colors, and thereby relieving the painter of the drudgery 
and responsibility of mixing and compounding, we have 
included in the A, B, C, System a ready-mixed stain for use 
as a safe guide-coat in scouring. 

Care is always called for in scouring. The stain-coat 
greatly facilitates the work, and should never be omitted. 
As the A, B, C, System proposes to leave little or no accu- 
mulation of material upon the wood; but to obtain the 
surface practically in the wood and of the wood, close 
attention should be given to the rubbing down, and it 
should be done without too much haste- Too heavy 
pressure upon the pumice block, with a view to quicken 
the work, can scarcely be approved of. 



28 The A, B, C, of Carriage Painting. 

THE SURFACING COMPLETED. 

The work of Surfacing, properly speaking, starts with 
a job in the wood and brings it to a condition of readiness 
for coloring. This is what the A, B, C, System essays to 
accomplish, and hence when the latter point is reached, 
the mission of A, B, C, has been practically fulfilled. 
Surfacer A has supplied an enduring foundation ; Surfacer 
B has loaded the grain ; Surfacer C, when rubbed down, 
has produced a surface solid, level and smooth. Our claim 
is that it has been done quicker, better and more durable 
than is possible by the old wa}^, even under the most 
favorable circumstances. 

COLORONE. 

It is not within the province of the A, B, C, System of 
Surfacers to supply the painter with colors, nor indeed, 
is there any need for it to do so. Our prominent color 
manufacturers are keenly alive to the wants of the Car- 
riage Painter, as well as conscientiously painstaking and 
enterprising in their endeavors to satisfy the same. Not- 
withstanding, however, the quality or the colors furnished, 
our carriage painters still find their use attended by many 
perplexing results ; but, to our mind, these accidents may 
less properly be charged to the colors than to what the 
painter puts into the colors while making them ready for 
use. Inferior Japans, not always to be detected by price 
or appearance, impure oil and " benzinated " turpentine, 
may not be wholly ''without sin" in this connection. 



The A, B. C, of Carriage Painting. 29 

With a view to assisting the painter in avoiding these 
dangers, the A, B, C, System offers to him the new and 
carefully prepared compound to be known as '^Colokone/' 
or Color Insurer, in place of Oil, Japan and Varnish 
in Color mixing, and the use of which substitutes for 
the labor and risk of mixing his own colors something 
prepared under a system and in such quantities and with 
such equipment as to insure uniformity. 



30 



The A, B, C, of Carriage Painting. 



DETAILED DIRECTIONS 

FOR THE USE OF THE 

A, B, C, SYSTEM OF SURFACERS. 



First, 
Second, 

Third, 
Fourth, 

Fifth, 
Sixth, 
Seventh, 
Follow 
Varnishes 



First, 



BODY PROCESS. 

Surfacer A. One Coat. 24 hours to dry. 

Putty imperfections, nail-holes, &c., &c. Putty- 
ing may be done 24 hours after A is applied. 

Surfacer B. One Coat. ^6 hours to dry. 

Surfacer C. For Bodies, two to five Coats. 24 
hours apart* 

Stain. One Coat. 6 hours. 

Rub down with block pumice. 

Color. Use Colorone in colors. 

on with Murphy's Rubbing and Finishing 



GEAR PROCESS. 



Surfacer A. One Coat. 24 hours to dry. When 
dry the job may go to be ironed, and when 
back from the smith be sandpapered. 
Second, Surfacer B. One Coat (over wood and iron* 
alike). 36 hours to dry. 

* Iron will not rust after one coat of Surfacer B. Give your Springs a 
thin coat. 



The A, B, C, of Carriage Painting. 31 

Third, Surfacer C. For Gears, One Coat. 24 

hours to dry. 
Fourth, Putty, and when thoroughly dry sandpaper for 

Color. 
Fifth, Color with Colorone. 

Follow on with Murphy's Rubbing and Finishing 
Varnishes. 

All directions for the use of the A, B, C, Surfacers, and 
especially those as to time for drying, must necessaril}'- be quite 
general in character. When the Surfacers are thoroughl}" dr}^ it is 
al\va5^s safe to proceed. We have in all cases given outside 
figures, leaving the possibilities of the System for quick work to be 
discovered by trial. 

DIRECTIONS FOR REPAIR WORK AND REPAINTING. 

Bur7it-off Jobs. — With ^' burnt-off " jobs proceed pre- 
cisely as in new work. 

Reiiewing Over Old Paint. — In the diversity of con- 
ditions in jobs to be renewed, it is, of course, impossible 
to lay down specific directions. The judgment of the 
painter will best guide him in such work. The A, B, C, 
Surfacers will not entirely obliterate old cracks, but they 
will seal them up so that they cannot reopen. 

To Paint a Panel or Spoke in a Few Hours. — Use 
Surfacer B. only, and apply one coat. Immediately rub 
same into the wood with a piece of soft leather, and con- 
tinue rubbing for about five minutes; follow at once with 
a coat of color. When dry, sandpaper, and apply a second 
coat of color. When again dry, stripe and varnish. 



32 The A, B, C, of Carriage Painting-. 

WORKING SETS. 

A carriage shop working set of the A, B, C, Surfacers 
is made up of four A, B, C, Mixing Cans. (See illus- 
tration on page ). These cans vary in capacity from 
one gallon to ten gallons, but the set of five gallon 
mixers is probably best suited to the average carriage paint 
shop. Each paint -shop should retain four of these mixing 
cans permanently for use as receptacles and draught cans 
for 'the A, B, C, material, which will be regularly supplied 
to the painter in square tin shipping cans, for which no 
charge is made. On receiving one, two or five gallons of 
either A, B, 0, or C, for Gears in a square tin shipping can, 
the painter has but to cut open the top of the shipping 
can and pour its contents into its appropriate mixing can, 
whence he may afterward draw it to suit his needs. The 
mixing can being air-tight, its contents are perfectly pro- 
tected from change. No charge is made for any cans, 
except Surfacer Mixing Cans, and this will be refunded at 
any time that parties choose to return the cans, if, of 
course, in perfect order. The Surfacers are supplied 
separately or in sets, as may be desired. 

TRIAL SETS. 

Sample quantities of the New System Surfacers, suffi- 
cient to paint a single body or gear, may be had by those 
desirous of practically testing, the A, B, C, System on a 
single job. We pack these trial sets separately, viz : a 
Body set and a Gear set, either or both of which will be 



The A, B, C, of Carriage Painting. 33 

promptly forwarded on application. No charge is made 
for Trial sets to parties in good standing who send for 
them with the intention of adopting the system if the 
trial prove satisfactory. 

WHAT THE A, B, C, METHOD HAS DONE. 

This pamphlet, substantially as now presented, was 
issued by us about a year ago, in the Fall of '77. At that 
time we had little else than our own tests and our own ex- 
perience to offer as justifying our faith in the method. 
But a year has passed, and the question may fairly be 
asked : What has the year done ? To this question we 
can answer, that it has taken the A, B, C, System out of the 
region of the experimental, and made it one of the regular 
parts of our business. To our own experiments and faith 
we can now add the trial and approval of a large number 
of carriage paint shops throughout the country. 

Many others who have not as yet fully adopted the 
System are testing it. It appeals to the common sense of 
every intelligent carriage builder in its shorter time and 
increased durability, and when to this is added the fact — 
for it is a fact — that its durability is greater than is 
possible under the old way, we do not think we overstate 
the matter when we say its advantages are such that its 
very general adoption must be only a question of time. 



PRICE LIST 

OF THE 

A, B, C, S U R F A C E R S. 



SURFACER A, $4 oo 

Priming Surfacer. 

This article is superior to anything heretofore offered 
as a Primer, for filling the pores of the wood into which it 
penetrates and which it permanently preserves. When 
once dry it is unsusceptible of further absorption by the 
wood, and it is impossible to cause it to cleave off, crack, 
flake or peel. It should be followed by Surfacer B. 

SURFACER B, 4 oo 

Loading Surfaeer. 

The composition of Surfacer B is to all intents and 
purposes identical with that of Surfacer A over which it 
is to be laid, except that it possesses additions adapting it 
to its place in the System, and which makes it somewhat 
more cement like. It should be followed with Surfacer 
C. 

SURFACER C, FOR BODIES, ... 3 50 

Leveling SiArfaeer 

This composition of Surfacer C is thoroughly homo- 
geneous with Surfacer B, over which it is to be laid, and 
its office is that of a leveler. It replaces the ordinary 
roughstuff, but it is in every way superior to that article. 
Two or three coats should be used according to the 
quality of the work. 

SURFACER C, FOR GEARS, ... 3 50 

Smoothing Surfacer. 

This article is a distinct composition from surfacer C 
for Bodies, and is intended as a Smoothing Surfacer for 
Gears, for use with Sand-paper, 



SURFACER C. FOR BODIES . . . $3 50 

For White ^A/■ork. 

This article is similar except in color to our regular 
Surfacer C for Bodies, but is intended for use, princi- 
pally among Railway companies, where the finish being 
light it is desirable to have a light ground. 

SURFACER C, FOR GEARS, . . . 3 50 

For White Work. 

This article is similar except in color to our regular 
Surfacer C for Gears, but is intended for use on such 
Gears as are to be finished in light colors. 

SASH SURFACER 4 00 

For Inside Car Work. 

This article is adapted to the filling up of all varieties 
of natural wood work. It is peculiarly well suited to In- 
side Car Surfacing. It has simply to be applied with a 
. brush in the ordinary way, allowed to dry and then sand- 
papered. Two coats thus treated will fill the most open 
grain. 

COLORONE 4 00 

For Use -with Colors. 

This article is a substitute for Oil, Japan and Varnish 
in color mixing. Its use insures the free working of the 
colors, and is a sure preventive against any tendency to 
peel, crack or flake. It increases the durability of the 
color and is superior to anything of the kind yet manu- 
factured. 

STAIN (Black) 1 50 

For Guide Coat in Seourmg. 

This is a ready mixed stain for use as a safe guide coat 
in scouring, which if done with care, will be greatly fa- 
cilitated by its use. 

SURFACER MIXING CANS. 

No. I. One gallon each i co 

No. 2. Two gallons each i 50 

No. 3. Five gallons each 2 00 

No. 4. Ten gallons each 3 00 



THE MURPHY CARRIAGE VARNISHES. 

VARNISHES FOR FINISHING COATS. 



PALEST DURABLE BODY VARNISH 



$6 



For Finishing Coats on Best Worl<. 

This Varnish is for final coats on best work ; is very nearly- 
colorless, flows freely, sets slowly and is eminently durable. It 
will dry over night and may be safely run out in three days, and 
with the utmost skill at command, extreme care and favorable 
conditions will produce the most brilliant results. One coat of it 
is sufficient over our Hard Drying Body Varnish, 



MEDIUM DRYING BODY VARNISH 

For Finishing Coats on Bodies. 



This is the same Varnish as our Palest Durable Body, except that 
it hardens more quickly, and is therefore a desirable substitute on 
all jobs not requiring the extreme nicety of finish, or allowing the 
same time or otherwise offering less favorable conditions, and is 
especially useful during the summer months or in shops where it is 
not possible to keep a uniform temperature 



PALE DURABLE CARRIAGE VARNISH . 

For Finishing Coats on Fine Running Parts- 



This Varnish being designed for running parts, is not so delicate 
as that for bodies, but it is made with a special view to toughness 
and elasticity. It is our most brilliant Gear Varnish, however, and 
should only be used for final coats on best work. In body and 
flowing properties it is similar to the two foregoing varnishes. 



HARD DRYING CARRIAGE VARNISH 



For Finishing Running Parts with one Coat. 

This Varnish hardens quicker and is heavier bodied than the 
foregoing, and is designed for that class of work when one coat only 
is practicable or can be afforded. It contains all the requisite points 
for finishing running parts with one coat over striping. It dries 
well over night and hardens thoroughly through. 



No. I CARRIAGE VARNISH .... 

For Finishing Running Parts of Ordinary Worl<. 

This Varnish is similar to our Hard Drying Carriage in body and 
working properities, but is intended for a cheaper class of work or 
repairs. It hardens a little quicker than the foregoing, and is, by 
some, preferred on that account. 



00 



6 oo 



5 oo 



4 50 



4 00 



VARNISHES FOR UNDER COATS. 



HARD DRYING BODY VARNISH 5 oo 

For Under Coats on Best Work. 
This Varnish is intended for use on Under Coats, to prepare a 
hne and durable surface for our finishing- Varnishes. It dries hard 
over night and can be rubbed in from four to live days. Where 
the time can be given, the use of this Varnish is strongly recom- 
mended, as the results obtained by its use are much more satisfac- 
tory than when a quicker Varnish is employed. 

RUBBING BODY VARNISH, 4 00 

For Under Coats on Bodies. 

This Varnish is sufficiently pale to permit its employment over 
any light colors, and free enough in its working properties for the 
largest panels. It dries hard over night and rubs nicely, without 
the slightest tendency to sweat, in about three days. In view of 
Its perfect rubbing properties, and the certainty of its results this 
grade has been one of the most popular Varnishes of late years. 

QUICK RUBBING VARNISH, 4 00 

For Under Coats on Hurried Work. 
This Varnish is similar to our Rubbing Body, but is intended for 
use where dispatch is imperative. It is especially serviceable on 
old work, and has met with much favor as a Rubbing Varnish for 
wheels and under parts of Carriages. It dries hard over night and 
can be rubbed in twenty-four to thirty-six hours. ' 

BLACK RUBBING VARNISH, 400 

For Under Coats on Bodies or Running Parts. 
This Varnish will be found denser in color, and superior in work- 
ing and covering properties to any article of the kind now on the 
market. On best work, two coats should be applied over a black 
ground. For use on old or repair work it is invaluable as it 
covers nicely with one coat, flows out perfectly, and dries with a 
brilliant lustre. 



NoTE.-Our Rubbing Varnishes are alike in their entire freedom from all 
liability to sweat out. In this most important point they are unexcelled The 
different grades mentioned above, furnish suitable qualities for all classes of 
work. The continued increase in the sale of our Black Rubbing, makes the 
success of that article remarkable. It is by all odds the best thin| of the kind 
ever offered the Carriage Maker. It is convenient and economical, and once 
in use IS never abandoned. ' 



JAPANS, ETC. 
ENAMEL TOP VARNISH, . 4 oo 

For Refinishing Old Carriage Tops- 

This is an elastic Varnish of intense black color, for renovating 
old Carriage Tops. It possesses the very great advantage of keep- 
ing the leather soft. In bright weather it will dry in one day ex- 
posed to the sun. The tops should be carefully cleaned before 
using. 

JAPAN GOLD SIZE 3 50 

For Binding and Drying Colors. 

This is a light colored drier for mixing with paints to aid their 
drying, binding and hardening through. Its superior binding pro- 
perties are especially noticeable, and on account of its paleness it is 
particularly useful with light colors. It is also a desirable quick- 
size for gilding 

COACH MAKERS' JAPAN, 2 00 

For Binding and Drying Colors- 

This is a very superior article for drying paints and colors. It is 
made from the finest materials and with especial care. It mixes 
perfectly free with oil, and is a good binder as well as drier. It is 
in extensive use by most of the prominent color geinders, and is the 
acknowledged standard among Carriage Makers, and in uniformity 
and certainty of results is without an equal. 

PALE DRYING JAPAN, 1 75 

For Binding and Drying Paints- 

This is a very superior Drier for paints and colors. It is quite 
pale in color, will mix freely with oil, and will be found entirely 
reliable in every way. It is superior to anything of its kind now 
on the market, except our own Coach Makers' Japan. 



MUf^PHY &,C0. 

NewarkxNJ. 




MUPY SHE^WIN & CO 
Cleveland, 0. 



^iwM-ii?: 



